Petite people: what do you consume to get enough protein for muscle building?

[chrstncrtr]

@vman8r Sardines. I’m 5’1”

 

[tobymacfanz]

@vman8r Following

 

[hoog]

@vman8r 5'1", 115, vegetarian and keto.

Lots of eggs, cheese, keto yogurt, and protein shakes. I don't get 92g every day, but since I'm keto I aim for

 

[littlestar8]

@vman8r Grains and beans. I get about 80g protein a day, which is around 1.6g/kg for me.

 

[rosalie]

@vman8r Here's a list of some of my favorite vegan foods that have decent protein levels:

• tofu
• tempeh
• soy milk
• legumes (I have a sensitive GI tract so I stick to edamame and butter beans - see what works for you)
• pulses (stuff like lentils)
• peas and chickpeas
• quinoa
• chia seeds
• hemp hearts
• nutritional yeast (like you'd have to eat a lot... which I do lol... but it's a protein powerhouse and a great source of vitamin B12)
• tvp (textured vegetable protein, often found in bits or chunks)
• soy curls (they are different from tvp in that they contain the whole soybean and don't have the same aftertaste that tvp has
• seitan (if making it at home, you can use vital wheat gluten or go all in using the washed flour method)
• protein powder - I use plain soy protein isolate since I can't handle artificial sweeteners and don't want the extra fiber. Tastes awful, but does the job.
• pasta - obviously there are high protein pastas, but regular pasta has alright protein
• breads - same considerations as pasta

Obviously some of these are also high in carbohydrates, but they can easily boost your protein intake. I wouldn't personally recommend nuts/seeds since they are more of a fat source (and therefore calorie dense), but those are also ok for protein - a glass of soy milk with whole wheat toast and peanut butter can pack a good amount of protein for a quick easy meal.

 

[vierentwintig]

@vman8r 4’11 ~96 pound vegetarian: normally eggs, egg whites, soy, soy milk, tofu, edamame, beans, lentils, protein powder yeah

 

[carla25]

@vman8r I'm definitely not getting 1.6g per kg, probably closer to 1g-1.2g per kg. But it's taken a bit of effort to get to this point too as I've always eaten mainly carbs so do have some tips!

When I eat just vegetarian food (which is frequent though I'm not vegetarian) I do struggle with it quite a bit. I'm sure you eat the usual veggie sources of protein, but though I eat say, lentil curry at least once a week, the volume needed to hit 25-30g per meal is ridiculous. I find myself having protein cookies/bars from Myprotein.com's lean range to balance it out.

As others have mentioned, I also try to sneak protein into my daily diet. So protein cereal, two slices of my usual bread has 9g of protein, sometimes I swap out butter for cream cheese on toast, I opt to include veggies that have a bit more protein e.g. broccoli or peas. Bulgar wheat instead of rice. Sometimes I mix in protein powder into my cereal milk if I'm going to have a low-protein cereal for breakfast so it bulks up the meal. Have some almond butter with my afternoon snack of an apple or a banana. This video might help you too.

Would highly recommend following Smalletics on YouTube or insta as she gives a lot of good, specific advice on body recomp/fitness/protein for petites. I think she's mentioned that having smaller bodies means that we can't process more than 30g of protein in one go anyway so snacking or more frequent meals is the way to go. (Though if anyone is well-versed in the science, I am happy to be corrected on this point.)

 

[sarahc59]

@vman8r 5’0 133lb who does bodybuilder type workouts for past 8 years. Lactose intolerant but whey isolate never gave me too much trouble. I recent switched to Orgain vegan protein. I use that, lactose free yogurt, occasionally some chicken, eggs, Turkey, and kefir. When I was more plant based I’d consume more kefir, edamame, beans, chickpeas, nutritional yeast, hempseed, etc. I aim for 125g and easily meet that goal.

 

[chithirairaj]

@vman8r I’m 167cm and 107lbs. I don’t eat meat or dairy because I’m intolerant but I do occasionally eat fish. To get my protein in, I add protein powder to my oats every morning. For lunch I’ll have mixed baked beans, bean chilli soup, eggs, tofu, tempeh, high protein bread, vegan Linda McCartney sausages or burgers with salad. For dinner I’ll have something similar or fish with vegetables. For snacks I’ll have rice cakes with peanut butter or marmite or soy yoghurt with protein powder and high protein granola. I also love having oats before I go to bed. I’m a little underweight so really trying to gain weight and build muscle at the moment. My TDEE is around 2000 so I’m eating at a surplus around 2200. Some days I find it really easy and other days I find it quite tough to eat enough, getting there though!

 

[ulfric]

@vman8r Not petite but for medical reasons a few years ago I was put on a ridiculously high protein diet for a short while. Pea protein was a godsend. You could stir a spoonful into soups or sauces to up the protein without too much of a calorie bump. It’s 80% protein so pretty good bang for your calories

 

[wilaywaly]

@ulfric Does heat affect the protein?

 

[xtopher]

@wilaywaly Add the protein powder after cooking. Stirring it into porridge is good too

 

[wilaywaly]

@xtopher Aha ok - it doesn’t denature from the heat?

 

[jm001]

@wilaywaly I find pea protein to be a lot more heat-safe than whey. It doesn't clump the same way. I can stir it right into hot oatmeal and can continue heating it, where I'd have to mix whey in with liquid first and it would bubble weirdly and be gross if I tried to keep cooking it.

 

[mam2011]

@vman8r

1. Protein shakes to supplement for sure. I can usually hit 70-80g with mindful food choices, but I need shakes to put me over 100g without meat.
2. Tbh a lot of meat subs. I honestly love veggie sausages (Tofurky, Field Roast, and Trader Joe's brands especially), but they do get expensive. And salty.
3. Others have said this, but definitely consciously choosing the higher-protein versions of things I already want to eat, like Banza pasta
4. TVP, also sold as "soya chunks" or "soya meat", kind of tastes bleh in my opinion, but it soaks up flavors well after a day in the fridge. I'm not enthused when it's the main protein of a dish, and I don't like the texture at all, but if I'm doing like chili or something with a lot of beans and veg and spices, I'll rehydrate and shred soya chunks and throw them in, like the max volume that I can add without overpowering everything else. I assume you could also do this with unflavored protein powder, but the texture of that is super off-putting for me.

 

[architect]

@vman8r Honestly, lots of eggs.

 

[jeffwilly001]

@architect https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.RJNqEk7YJk3QicF57lvFTAHaFk

 

[chainsaw1]

@vman8r Short vegan here! I really like Vega Sport protein powder and use Silk Protein milk for shakes.

I like to use Banza pasta and ezikeal bread to get the most protein possible from everyday foods. I add chia seeds to things like oatmeal and basically just try to prioritize whole food protein as much as possible, and supplement the rest.

 

[gurshwin]

@chainsaw1 A bowl of high fiber/high protein Kashi with soy milk and Chocolate Vega protein powder is my go to post workout snack

 

[godisiam]

@chainsaw1 I like the banza Mac and cheese and cook 1/3 portions and add a ton of veggies. So good!